The Algonquin Club of Boston opened on November 8, 1888. It is a club rich in history, culture and tradition, which is manifested in its art, architecture and archives.

The structure itself is the design of the architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White, one of the most outstanding architectural firms of the day and designer of the Boston Public Library (BPL). Begun at approximately the same time as the BPL, the smaller Algonquin Club opened first. Based on the English style, the Club’s interior was designed as a club and not as a residence (unlike other clubs that often began as residences and then were converted to clubs.) The building’s exterior is Indiana Limestone, designed in the Italian Renaissance Palazzo style. The Main Dining Room, resplendent with its four fireplaces, has the interior signature of McKim, Mead and White, with its massive pewter chandelier and the “Royal Box”, located above the entrance. 

Within the club, there exists an extensive collection of art and archival material.  Paintings by Tarbell, Cobb, Hinckley, Corrodi, Vining Smith and DeTaille grace its many walls. Public rooms and function rooms, all have their stories to tell through history, wall and floor coverings. The Reading Room, arguably one of the finest drawing rooms in the city, has many oil paintings, including portraits of John Forrester Andrew, the club’s first President, and that of his father, John Albion Andrew, Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts during the Civil War and founder of the famous Massachusetts 54th Regiment. Bronze sculptures by Cyrus Edwin Dallin also grace the Reading Room, including “Prayer to the Eternal Spirit”, which can be viewed in full size gracing the front lawn of the Museum of Fine Arts.

A striking life sized painting of President Calvin Coolidge provides a commanding presence in the second floor foyer that connects the Reading and Grill Rooms. The artist, Edmund C. Tarbell was Dean of the Boston School of Painters in the early 1900s. The club has four of Tarbell’s paintings. Archival materials reveal that Tarbell had been Chairman of the Club’s Art Committee and architect Charles Follen McKim was also a club member.  There are many paintings hanging in the Club of distinguished Governors and Senators of Massachusetts, including five variations of paintings that hang in the Massachusetts State Capitol building on Beacon Hill.

The Algonquin Club is fortunate to have archival material in excellent condition that documents the Club’s rich history, including Executive Committee minutes from its inception in 1886. They provide information with respect to the naming of the club and events that occurred within the club during such historical periods as The Great Depression, Prohibition, World War I and World War II, and its rather fascinating membership over more than a century.